DTs and the Presidential Campaign

Six months ago when it seemed that the presidential race rhetoric couldn’t get any more out of balance I posted a two-parter called: “The Beauty of Balance.”I couldn’t have imagined that it was only the beginning of our country’s out-of-whackness. When the rhetoric of presidential candidates (and the pundits thereof) morphed into childish name-calling – secular and supposed Christian alike – I followed those witty compositions with an even wittier three-part series called “The Libel of Labels.”

I had hoped that we would have shaken ourselves back to a saner place by now, but shockingly, none of these Pulitzer-worthy pieces stemmed the advancing tide of national vitriol and venom! After all, I do have more than a few close friends who owe me money and a couple family members who know how cranky I can be at holiday gatherings if they can’t produce proof that they’ve been following what I type till my fingers bleed. Passive-aggressive guilt-heaping is the tactic I use when indebtedness and crankiness doesn’t work.

But, as you can see, instead of saner it’s only grown weirder here in the Unstable State of America. Anyway, I thought if I could berate or guilt a few more people into reading my former masterpieces on such issues, it might well bring calm, sensibility, if not respectability to our national conversation about what kind of country we want to be in front of the rest of the world who already suspected we were nuts!

For the record, in those former posts I actually named presidential candidates (and only the ones with the least presidentialness to their demeanor and those most lacking in character) so sparingly that I would’ve made my sweet-spirited mother proud. I’ve since let one name in particular slipbut in the most diplomatic way possible by using only his initials: DT.

Incidentally, those initials are the same ones as the severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, confusion, and hallucinations called “Delirium Tremens.” Just saying.

There seems to be some sort of fawning trance over this particular candidate that I can’t help myself but to remind us that time’s running out to detox from these DTs. One man said he was voting for this man with his middle finger. I get the metaphor, and can even understand his frustration, but it’s time to vote with something other than with your finger. Your God-given reason, sense of decency, or a Christ-infused conscience if you have one, come to mind.

If this individual were to actually be elected to the highest office in the land I predict that, when it’s too late to take it back, his hysterical devotees will be flipping him off with a four-year long “Up yours!” (FYI my sweet mother wouldn’t approve, so I would have to forgo my personal finger flipping, at least in public and on the Internet. All bets are off in private among my close and least sanctified friends who promise not to tell Mom.)

OK, so don’t take my teensy word for it. Besides the Pope and other spiritual biggies that I could mention, even the famous stay-away-from-politics pastor and author, Max Lucado couldn’t help himself from voicing his opinion on the candidate in question. And who doesn’t love and respect the always cuddly Max Lucado?

Time for full disclosure. I don’t always, if seldom, vote for Christians for public office. Some of the best and a few of the worst people I’ve ever known are believers in the same God I follow. I’m not looking for a President/Pastor or expect obligatory Bible verses in State of the Union addresses. There’s no way I’ll ever agree with every policy of any one person elected to office. To my mind, it really is the “lesser of evils” that gets my vote. But there is a certain candidate who flunks every test to qualify as the lesser of anything except character. (BTW, be “a character” and having character are not the same.)

I get that you’re so frustrated with the politicians of America that you can’t stand it anymore. You just have to flip someone off, but please don’t do it by drinking the Kool-Aid and voting for someone out of spite! If you need to get it out of your system and it would help you to come back down to earth to vote with a settled mind instead of with your finger, feel free to flip me off. (This offer is only good for the 24-hour period following this posting, so hurry it up!)

4 Replies to “DTs and the Presidential Campaign”

No flipping off here – just sorrow at the dying of the beautiful experiment that America has been. I have not lost hope altogether that this nation can fulfill its destiny; I tend to take the long view these days. So I will continue to intercede, because in the short term at least, elections have consequences.

Yep. I think that “destiny” was never meant by God to be anything like the nationalistic so-called, “Manifest Destiny.” If nothing else we’ve proven that we’re not the culturally and racially superior people that our forefathers once claimed to be. Maybe our faltering will lead us to repentance and faith in Jesus after all and introduce us to a kingdom destiny. Let’s hope.

Lucado and me went to the same school… I remember when he returned to speak and all the honor afforded him. Youre right about cuddly… Good guy, has my respect… but you would not confuse me for him, I am sure.

I have been reading your blog for a while. I get that you try very hard to be diplomatic to the 9th power. I appreciate your concern for civility and gentleness. And with El Diablo running for president, it seems all the rules are changing.

My two bits… not that they change anything… but I cant help but share your concerns in general… I don’t vote. I have not voted in many years. Actually, I am really tempted to register this time, not for the presidential race, but because we have a guy running for mayor of Lubbock that really jazzes me. But I still probably wont vote.

The more study I have put into it all, and I just barely have any respect actually for our system. It was a shame long before this presidential race, and actually, I think that is what is coming home to roost. People are fed up with what we have had for a long time and are latching on to this new beast. But really every since, as Thomas Jefferson put it, we separated church and state and kicked God out of the ruling our world process, it has been headed in the wrong direction at fundamental levels that grace has staved off the effects of for over 200 years.

I am no doomsdayer, but it’s looking pretty grim out there on the stormy horizon. Not the first time, but boy, it looks different this time too.

But you know what? The church has endured it all already. Caligula, Nero, the dark ages…. Hmm… A lot of people lost their heads and burned in a lot of fires. A lot of good people too. Lions 10/Christians 0… lets play ball!!!

I am praying. My prayer life is deepening. I hope my brothers and sisters will get off these bandwagons of idolatry and get back on their knees. If we don’t, then we haven’t got a prayer!

You’re right, X, I do make an effort to be diplomatic. It gives me a better chance to be heard. Interestingly, John, the Apostle of Love, was more forthright in how he wrote.

Revelation 17:1-2 “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

Post navigation

What readers are saying about Reaching Rahab

“Guilt–free, refreshing, captivating, and real!”

Rick Wulfestieg, founding Executive Director of Foursquare Media

“Rahab is the story, Barney the interpreter, and a lifetime of personal experiences are the inspiration to find freedom in life’s journey to find your own unique path in fulfilling our one great purpose: to love God and to love people toward him.”

Randy Finkbeiner, missionary to KwaMhlanga, South Africa

“Barney’s evangelism flows out of a brokenness that helps him to relate to people as a friend, a fellow learner and one who can relate with empathy in people’s personal journey…”

Tim Svoboda, YWAM San Francisco Bay Area Coordinator

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.